Gary Glitter, the disgraced 1970s pop star whose real name is Paul Gadd, has appeared in court charged with historical sexual offences said to date back to 1978. Appearing via video link from HMP Channings Wood in Devon, where he is currently imprisoned, Gadd denied the allegations at Westminster Magistrates' Court, telling the hearing he did not know the complainant. The case matters because Gadd is already a convicted paedophile serving time for previous offences, and these fresh charges reopen scrutiny of his historical conduct decades after his initial arrest.

Gadd faces one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14, with prosecutors alleging the offences occurred between 1978 and 1981 against a girl then aged eight to eleven who lived near him. He was remanded in custody and will next appear at the Old Bailey on 2 September. Gadd was first arrested in 2012 during the investigation into Jimmy Savile's abuse, later convicted in 2015 of offences against girls aged 12 to 14 and jailed for 16 years; he was released in 2023 after serving half his sentence but was returned to prison within a month over allegations he had viewed downloaded images of children.